Top 10 Green Countries (PHOTOS)

The United States is slowly starting to embrace shades of green, but a large part of the world is far ahead. See what our global neighbors are up to, and vote for your favorite green country. Who knows, maybe your next eco-vacation will take you there.

GERMANY: In spite of its cloudy weather, Germany has more than half of the world’s solar-power generating capacity and has invested over $14 billion in green technology last year. In fact, one of its towns - Vauban – has gone almost entirely car free!

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Comments

[highplainsdrifter]

01:35 PM on 07/22/2009

I vote for Cuba and North Korea. Both of their carbon footprints vs population are the lowest in the developed world. If the rest of the world would rise up and emulate these two model societies we could save thousands of polar bears.

[MemoryAlpha]

01:40 PM on 07/22/2009

Query:
Are you just here merely to troll?

[MemoryAlpha]

01:43 PM on 07/22/2009

Straw Man Argument:
Noted.

Observation:
You are a veritable textbook of faulty debate tactics.

[highplainsdrifter]

01:55 PM on 07/22/2009

My tactic of stating facts is a pesky little habit of mine.......Sorry: HPD

[highplainsdrifter]

12:58 PM on 07/22/2009

Spain did increase its installed wind power capacity to 10% of its total electricity, although actual energy output is 10-30% of this, or 1-3% of total electricity, because the wind is intermittent and unreliable. However, Spain spent $3.7 billion on the program in 2007 alone, according to King Juan Carlos University economics professor Gabriel Calzada.

It created 50,000 jobs, mostly installing wind turbines, at $73,000 in annual subsidies per job – and 10,000 of these jobs have already been terminated. Spain’s economic problems have slashed the subsidies and put the remaining 40,000 jobs at risk.

Meanwhile, soaring prices for subsidized wind energy and carbon dioxide emission permits raised electricity prices for other businesses – causing 2.2 jobs to be lost for every “green” job created, says Calzada. Spain’s unemployment rate is now 17% and rising. That’s hardly the “success” story so often cited by Congress and the Obama Administration.

[lightningbolt]

11:40 AM on 07/22/2009

I'm surprised Israel wasn't on the list of countries to vote for. They are one of the world's leaders in green technology.

[ModernTimes1]

12:01 PM on 07/22/2009

It's not PC to post positive stories about said country.
Amazing, considering that U.S. and China extensively use I-eli environmental tech.
Fact: I-el 95% of ALL apartment buildings use solar thermal power to heat water.

[MemoryAlpha]

01:05 PM on 07/22/2009

Also Noted:
"But Israeli per capita consumption of water for household use, including that of Israeli citizens within the Green Line, is estimated to be at least three and maybe as many as five times that of Palestinians."
http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-33227-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html

[MemoryAlpha]

12:25 PM on 07/22/2009

Observation:

Dangerous, Untreated Wastewater in the West Bank
http://www.baltimorechronicle.com/2009/071709Lendman.shtml

[ezeflyer]

11:31 AM on 07/22/2009

Norway is right up there. Venezuela is getting there because Chavez is doing the same as in Norway and using their oil to help their country. And still HP put Chavez was in the "10 worst leaders" category. Racism, pure and simple.

[JerryLevy]

12:41 AM on 07/22/2009

I don't know if they are the greenest or not but they must be up there with all the recycling they do, the water purification, solar energy, and technology to make cars run more efficiently. I am talking about Israel.

[MemoryAlpha]

12:28 PM on 07/22/2009

Clarification:
"The West Bank has become a dumping site for hazardous waste - which is making residents sick, say Israeli and Palestinian environmental groups.

Several weeks ago, villagers from Jima'in in the Nablus district complained that Israeli trucks were again dumping waste on Palestinian land."
\http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2008/03/2008525183945545589.html

[MemoryAlpha]

01:09 PM on 07/22/2009

Observation:
Abu Thaher, told Al Jazeera that some Israeli companies were dumping waste in the Palestinian territories rather than resorting to the official hazardous waste treatment site, Ramot Havav, in southern Israel...

"A number of Israeli companies have relocated to the West Bank to avoid the strict environmental laws governing the disposal of waste, particularly hazardous waste in Israel," Abu Thaher told Al Jazeera.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2008/03/2008615108948814.html

[JerryLevy]

10:20 PM on 07/22/2009

Al Jaziera----now there is an objective source for environmental news.

[ZenCrusader]

10:38 PM on 07/21/2009

I live in Costa Rica & I think we have a long way to go - recycling is not fully implemented and mass transit needs alot of work - the freeways in and out of San Jose are bumper to bumper for 4 - 6 hours each day and just too many cars. Still, it is a pleasure to live here. God bless Costa Rica !

[TigersEye]

12:07 AM on 07/22/2009

My brother in law lives there half of the year and he loves it. It has some beautiful scenery.

[eastjame]

04:00 PM on 07/21/2009

wheres new zealand. that should be number one

[ccpostman]

03:19 PM on 07/21/2009

New Zealand

[MikeDu]

01:00 PM on 07/21/2009

A large fraction of Americans can't even locate their own state on a map of the U.S., but we're expected to vote on which foreign country is most green based on little more than intuition? In that case I vote for Turkey because I like eating turkey.

[NoblesseOblige]

02:19 PM on 07/21/2009

I vote for Chile--because I like spicy food like that. :D

[mcthfg]

11:50 AM on 07/21/2009

Being green is numbers and science, not opinion.

This is one of the dumbest things HP has done yet.

[EasyEs]

11:47 AM on 07/21/2009

Misleading they haven't closed one Coal power plant because they need to keep them running in the background. France has gotten it right though with Nuclear Power.. why is North America so far behind that trend?

[mcthfg]

11:52 AM on 07/21/2009

3 Mile Island. Chernobyl.

Grow up and be responsible - nuclear power will never be a good option.

Stop being greedy, and use less power.

[slithers]

02:47 PM on 07/21/2009

Grow up and be realistic. People aren't going to use less power.

[lightningbolt]

11:39 AM on 07/22/2009

The influence of coal and oil lobbyists has prevented anything green from happening in this country. Once again, the main issue here is corruption and legalized bribery (aka private campaign donations). Once we get rid of legalized bribery, the main obstacle to progress in the U.S. will be eliminated.

[Mnemanth]

11:36 AM on 07/21/2009

The United States: Dead last.

[innerpeace]

11:47 AM on 07/21/2009

We are a much larger country which makes going green more difficult and costly,but we are improving..

[lightningbolt]

11:37 AM on 07/22/2009

Germany is a very large country, population-wise, and it has no problems going green.

[highplainsdrifter]

01:09 PM on 07/22/2009

Exactly, and I have a great remedy for this. If yourself and the rest of your ideologically challenged brethren would all move into "green" eco-friendly communes, you could all feel good about yourselves and be a model for green living. Also you could save tons and tons of carbon and possibly "save the planet". This is a much better option than bringing down the entire country with ridiculous, pie in the sky, carbon tax regulations that would hit the poorest among us the hardest.